We were out smarted, simple as that.
Outsmarted? Sorry, but that would imply that we are active participants. It is very easy to win a chess match against someone who is not even playing. And that is the reality of the situation.
Our union is a joke, not because of our representatives, but because our membership doesn't even give a ****t enough to even vote. What point is there in getting everybody on-board if the guys that are already members don't even care enough to vote on important issues like FDAP?
The reason the FAs got their way is that 500 of them showed up at Hello Kitty City ready to sweat it out. When is the last time you saw 500 CX pilots together for any cause besides rugby sevens or a fleet party? It has nothing to do with how much you have to loose, it has to do with backbone and enough foresight to know that every little thing taken is twice as hard to get back. You think the FAs have power? You have the same power, you just lack backbone. You have to care about the issues and be willing to be an active participant.
Until our 49er/Ansett/****ty-job (pick whichever you like) mentally-scarred group get over it and start caring we will always loose to the company - and they know it just as much as we do.
